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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871034">Hostage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassNotCannon/pseuds/GlassNotCannon'>GlassNotCannon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Dark Comedy, Explicit Language, Mind Palace, Psychological Horror</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:41:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871034</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassNotCannon/pseuds/GlassNotCannon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When tapping into the unknown forces of the cosmos it's important to do so with baby steps. Going too far too fast can have unforeseen consequences. Nichole should have listened to her mentor and is now having to deal with the fallout of not taking precautions and following the rules of magic. Now she's trapped within her own mind trying to stop the mysterious Mr. Green from using her own body against her and the whole world.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hostage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Additional tags to be added as more of the story is written.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Looking back, I was a fool. I should have listened to Carpenter, but I was too arrogant. I thought I knew better, and I was too naïve to realize that I didn’t. She was trying to protect me. She was trying to protect us all. I can't even count on my hands how many times she warned me, but I thought she was just being too protective. I thought she was being a coward. I opened a door and didn't check to see if anything was on the other side before doing so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>To err is human, or so I’m told. If so, then I must be the most <em>human</em>, human there is. I practically left the door wide open and it came through as if personally invited. Carpenter told me time and time again that it was important to secure an aperture before and after use. Needless to say, I didn’t, and now I have a hitchhiker. I guess it’s more like an invader. I’ve been hanging out in the equivalent of a panic room within my mind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>I didn't even notice it at first. I went about my daily life as if nothing had happened. I even lied about it, right to Carpenter's face. I can't help but wonder if on some level she knew something was up before I did. She kept wanting me to drink one of her weird smelling teas, saying, "It strengthens the mind". Man, do I owe her a big apology if I survive this. Hell, if we survive this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>It started with the blackouts. Small ones. They maybe lasted 5 to 15 minutes tops. I would be doing something then zone out then realize time had passed when I zoned back in. I would be doing something different than what I was when it happened. Most times is was small difference that I barely noticed until after I reflected on it much, much later. Like bending down to re-tie my shoe after I tripped on the laces only to find that I'd already tied them, but instead of the single knot I usually do it's a double knot. Then there was the one time I started running a bath and the next moment I knew I was sitting in the bath still in all my clothes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>Then the noises started. It would only happen when no one else was around. Small things. Like the soft rustle of a page being turned or the slight flutter of cloth as something passes by. Then it turned to creaking noises, like a door opening when I know I'm the only one in my apartment. Or the soft padding of feet on tile when my place is nothing but carpet. I should have gone to Carpenter then. But I didn't. I waited, thinking it would go away. Word to the wise, problems don't just go away. Someone, whether that person is the one who caused the issue to begin with or someone else is going to have to fix it. Whoever stated that some problems fix themselves was a lying shithead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>It was once it got to the next stages that I started to really panic. I called Carpenter one day asking if she had her spare room prepared and if she was willing to have me as a guest for a few days. A few days turned into a few weeks. I kept seeing a blurred figure in my peripherals. When I turned no one was there. And that's when the whispering started.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>I couldn't make out the words at first. It was a murmur so soft it just made my ears itch. This was when I finally started to piece everything together and it really hit home what happened. I did the only thing I could think of. I hit the panic button.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>Instead of finding myself surrounded the lace doilies and floral patterns that decorated Carpenter's home, I was safe within the walls of a grey room my fingers gripping a soft pink shag rug. In my grey room, I hold all that is precious to me. I hold my most prized memories. Some of them are things people might find mundane, while others are so fantastical, they are hard to believe.  Regardless, they are all precious to me. Once I'm centered, I carefully run my fingers over the files and books with titles for major moments in my life. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>Here though the whisper is no longer a whisper. The entity within my body is booms its voice to make sure I hear it. It tells me that it will let me go if I only share my knowledge with it. It wants to know how I made it possible for it to get into my world. It wants to know who I am, and what I am. It tells me that it would be willing to share its knowledge with me if I would just do the same, but I know it's lying. I can tell by the way it crawls through my memories, leaving green ichor in its wake. It scratches at my thoughts, searching for a way in, searching for a weakness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>I feel like all I can do now is wait.</p>
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